THE TRAVELS OF BIRDS 



seemed to make no decrease in their ranks. It 

 was more important to frighten them than to 

 kill them. 



It must be confessed that Bob and his family 

 did great damage to the rice crops. But he did 

 equal harm to himself. His enemies, the gun- 

 ners, accused him of being a pest. For this rea- 

 son it has been impossible to have laws passed 

 protecting the Bobolink south of the country in 

 which he spends the summer. 



From South Carolina the Ricebirds continue 

 their journey southward through Florida. Then 

 they cross directly to Cuba, where they arrive 

 in September. 



Still the birds fly southward. Some may fly 

 directly across the Caribbean Sea to Colombia, 

 a journey of about 500 miles; others follow 

 the coast of Central America. Many stop for a 

 while in Jamaica. They reach this island in 

 October, and because of their fatness are called 

 Butterbirds. 



Whether some Ricebirds fly all the way from 

 southern Cuba to northern South America we do 

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